Chanderkant Jha, a notorious serial killer who terrorised Delhi in 2006 and 2007, has been apprehended once again after evading authorities for several months. Jha, now 57, was initially sentenced to death for his crimes, but his conviction was later commuted to life imprisonment in 2016.
In October 2023, Jha was due to return to prison after a 90-day parole. Instead, he chose to disappear, prompting a manhunt by the Delhi Police.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Sanjay Sen announced that Jha was arrested at New Delhi railway station, where he had been hiding. "We had placed a reward of Rs 50,000 for information leading to his capture. After months of surveillance and planning, he was finally traced," Sen told reporters.
The police undertook extensive investigations over a six-month period, tracing Jha’s network of family, friends and associates. They conducted reconnaissance at locations connected to his past crimes and interrogated individuals in fruit and vegetable markets across Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar—areas where Jha had worked in the past.
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Through meticulous analysis of call data records, investigators identified a suspicious mobile number that ultimately led them to his whereabouts. Jha was arrested on January 17 as he attempted to flee to Bihar from Old Delhi Railway Station.
Originally hailing from Bihar, Jha lived near Azadpur Mandi in Delhi and often befriended young men, particularly migrants, by helping them find jobs and offering meals. However, minor disputes or perceived slights would trigger his violent outbursts.
According to a NDTV report, Jha would bind his victims' hands, claiming he was punishing them, before strangling them with a locally made nunchaku. He meticulously dismembered the bodies to minimise blood splatter and transported the remains in plastic bags using a modified cycle-rickshaw before discarding them at carefully chosen locations, often near Tihar Jail.
Jha's signature involved leaving handwritten notes with the dismembered bodies, taunting the police and challenging them to catch him. Many of his victims' remains were found close to Tihar Jail.
His first recorded murder occurred in 1998 when he killed Mangal, also known as Aurangzeb, in Delhi's Adarsh Nagar, dismembering the body and scattering the parts. After being arrested in 1998 and released in 2002, Jha returned to his murderous ways.
In June 2003, he killed his friend Shekhar in Haiderpur over a dispute about drunkenness and lies, disposing of the body in Alipur. Later that year, he murdered Umesh, a fellow migrant, for alleged betrayal, dumping the remains near Tihar Jail. In November 2005, he killed Guddu for his habits, disposing of the body in Mangolpuri. In October 2006, another victim, Amit, met a similar fate, with his body also left outside Tihar Jail.